Sitting in a non-decrepit travel agency, Faisal Wahid could be just one of the thousands of agents in the city doing bad business on a lazy Sunday afternoon. He is not. In the early nineties, the five Wahid brothers were the first to smile on those used to the frowns of the stewardesses of Indian Airlines. Even with the lasso of the fickle government policy around its neck, East West soared to an incredible height before it crashed. They started on February 28, 1992, with one plane. They peaked with 11 aircraft and 32 destinations. On August 9, 1996, they became history. Lara Gonzalves joined as trainee traffic assistant in East West as early as 1993. She bought shares worth Rs 5,000 when the company came out with a public issue in July, 1994. ‘‘I was just out of college, the airport was so close to the house. Within a year, I became the executive assistant to the deputy MD (Shahabuddin Wahid). My father used to invest in shares and that is why I invested. It is a different matter that my father never invested in East West,’’ she laughs. The money is gone. ‘‘It was out of my salary and yes, I lost the money, but I also did not get paid for five months.’’ Why did she continue working? ‘‘It was fun, an airport job was glamourous.’’ East West is a distant memory for Lara. Today she is an assistant manager (business development) in a Marriott Hotel in Mumbai. See also: Flight of fancy on a windswept field In these four years, the five Wahid brothers raised enough money from a consortium of nine banks and eager-beaver investors who thought airline stocks would be the next big thing. They hadn’t counted on the spectre of the underworld that rose within a year of its first flight. Those on the Bombay blasts trail found that the Memon brothers had been issued tickets from an East West Travel and Tours. It belonged to a certain Ram Magnani; not the Wahids. The promoters launched front-page ads that it was not them but the damage had been done. In the minds of the people, the pink and purple bands on the tail of the aircraft had been replaced by Dawood’s face. Several other underworld cases down the months, and the staff and promoters were more involved in sorting out papers for the investigators than selling air tickets. Aircraft lease problems, trained staff stolen by rival airlines (Damania reportedly lured pilots with double salaries) and uncertain government policy were just some of the other problems the Wahids faced. Early November, Thakiyuddin Wahid was killed in his car just minutes away from his office in Bandra. An Intelligence Bureau (IB) report says it was Chhota Rajan shooters Guru Satam and Joe d’Souza. The police suspect he was target for his links with rival gangster Dawood Ibrahim. Sitting in his office in Prabhadevi — the Wahids still have a travel agency —Faizal Wahid, now 34, flatly denies the underworld link. ‘‘I don’t believe the police. Not a single policeman came to our house to investigate after the murder — I had to go to them.’’ For months, the airline limped before the banks added the stamp of NPA (non-performing assets) and it was shut down. The small investors were left with dud shares in their hands and the banks rolled up their sleeves to fight a lost battle to get their money back. And all that is left of what was once India’s largest private airline is a sleepy, deserted behind the lane that houses the busiest temple of the city, Siddhivinayak. PREVIOUSLY » For the Home Trade dot-conned, life means less» Real scam in the virtual abode» Khatau’s vicious cable knot » In the footsteps of long-dead Corona » Strong brew of lost clients, laced with fudged accounts » Brewing malt into can of debt » ‘I will protect your money too’ » Baid blames it on an earlier Loot and Scoot » When early bird crashes first » A dead car plant and Rs 200 cr: Cost of PAL-Peugeot pow-wow » One Pied Piper, 24 lakh investors and 11 states » Dream plantations that never bore fruit » Like a dream, he raised 1,100 cr and made it vanish into thin air » With 133 companies, he had dream run » Missing from BSE: Rs 10,000 crore » List of 'Unknown' Cos on the BSE » Watch Out: There’s a Dalal Street blacklist
